You're Not Alone
by kuro's girl
Summary: There was a time when Penny believed that she could solve anything. It's no surprise considering that she has defeated MAD countless times. Yet, she finds herself at a loss when her Uncle gets into his moods.


**So after poking around on DA and discovering Grimdark Gadget art, I was inspired to write a fic based on an amazing picture. At first I was going to write it from Gadget's perspective, but then I decided that I wanted to do Penny's instead because I thought it would be more interesting. Don't worry, it's not entirely angsty.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that appear in this!**

Unlike most other young girls, Penny Gadget didn't spend her time hanging out with friends or pursuing personal hobbies. No, Penny's life consisted of helping her Uncle Gadget fight against the evil organization called MAD. Of course, he didn't know about her involvement, or their dog Brain's for that matter. In fact, Gadget often tried arresting Brain while the canine was wearing a disguise. It wasn't that Gadget was unsuited for the job. He was just... clueless. Yet, there were times when he would get a vacant look in his eyes and be completely still. The young girl had to admit that it scared her. It scared her more than the worst MAD could throw at her. It was common knowledge that _that_ particular topic wasn't discussed. She tried once before, but it triggered one of his episodes. He wasn't dangerous, but she was still terrified. It amazed her that one question could provoke such a response. She was always able to help her uncle but not when he really needed it.

Thankfully, Gadget's mood swings didn't happen very often. When they did occur, she would gently prod him which caused him to immediately focus and go back to normal. She could never get up the courage to tell him her concerns.

Next time would be different. Unfortunately, the next time happened to be today.

She was walking down the hall when she saw the bathroom door open with steam coming out of it. Uncle Gadget had just taken a shower. As she continued walking, she noticed that he had that vacant look in his eyes.

Quickly disappearing out of sight, she peeked around the edge of the doorway. Her heart sank. Wrapped in a towel, Gadget was staring at himself in the mirror with his hands gripping the sides of the sink. Aside from his face and hair, the rest of his body was metal. Every piece was meticulously constructed so that it had the appearance of muscle and bone. Penny had never seen how intricate it was aside from when the man would extend his arms, legs, or neck. Though she had never seen it, Penny knew from overhearing conversations (she could have easily hacked into his files, but she wouldn't disrepect his privacy like that) that her uncle wore a suit over his metal body that was supposed to substitute for skin. No wonder why he didn't like to take his trench coat off.

Her eyes drifted back up to the mirror where his eyes held emotions that were too complex for her to understand. Despite her child prodigy mind, she could only translate them as sadness and anger. Her eyes filled with tears. There was nothing she could do for him right now. Not able to see anymore, she quietly went back to her room and hugged Brain tightly. She would wait a while and then confront him. After all, she had promised herself that she would make more of an effort this time.

Time passed and Penny had finished reading her book. Brain had left her embrace, nuzzling her before he left the room. Glancing at the clock, she realized that her uncle would most likely be in the living room. Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to her destination.

When she entered the room, Gadget was in his chair with his face was hidden behind a newspaper. Both his hands held the paper while the one from his hat turned the pages. A bizarre sight to most, but completely normal to her. Brain appeared to be asleep on the couch, but she knew that he was there to support her.

"Uncle Gadget?"

The hand pushed down the paper. "Yes Penny?" His eyes still looked lucid, but not as bad as before.

"Are you all right?"

"Of course I'm fine." He went back to reading the paper.

"You know if anything was wrong, you could tell me." her voice trailed off at the end. The hand stopped mid page turn. Folding it, he placed the paper on the coffee table next to him.

"You sound upset Penny." For how clueless he was about everything else, Gadget was surprisingly straight to the point when it came to his niece. It sometimes made her wonder about his usual state of obliviousness.

"I worry about you Uncle Gadget."

"Penny, there's no need to worry! I've thwarted MAD many times."

She bit her lower lip and looked down at her shoes. "That isn't what I'm talking about." Brain raised his head and nodded, urging her to go on. "You..."

Her uncle leaned forward and stared intently at her. "I appreciate your concern and... I'm sorry that I make you worry." His expression was one of guilt. She was about to apologize, but he smiled at her. "Penny, no matter what, I'll be fine. I always bounce back!" At the exact moment he stood up, the springs in his feet popped out and sent him head first into the ceiling. Brain sighed and covered his face with a paw.

He landed in the chair, dazed. The ceiling surprisingly only had a few cracks instead of a gaping hole. Penny couldn't help but giggle. After shaking his head, Gadget stood up and briefly had to steady himself.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"...Yeah."

"Good." He glanced at his watch. "It's late. You should be getting into bed."

"I know." She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I love you Uncle Gadget."

He returned the gesture, looking down at her fondly. "I love you too Penny."

**I think I'm definitely going to write some more Gadget fics (although I won't be using so much angst lol). Oh, and about the whole wearing a suit made to look like skin thing. It's in the show. It's the episode where Gadget has to go back in time to save his ancestors. After taking a bath, there's a screen up and we can see Gadget putting something on that looks like a shirt. However, when he comes around the screen, he isn't wearing a shirt. It's not an animation error because his upper torso is colored the same tone as his face.**


End file.
